You bring up a good point about bowhunting.....my experience with ladderstands have been horrible during bow season as well. When I'm bowhunting it is either a climber or a lock on style stand.

I hunt w/a climber on a WMA.When I scout it's also w/treestand placement in mind.I have various locations pre-selected and need the portability.

I can set up my Lone Wolf hang-on and 4 sticks 20 feet high faster and quieter than most people with climbers and I don't have to hunt for straight limbless trees... I hunt for deer!
I have taken a lot of mature bucks hunting mobil out of lock-on type stand. Its really more of a system than a stand. Without the sticks that connect to the back it would be tough to set up like other stands. But with the sticks bungeed onto the back I don't have any problem walking a couple miles of swamp or woods and setting up in a new tree in 15 minutes.
I generally hunt near buck bedding areas and set up the stand within 75 to 200 yards of bedded deer and rarely get busted.

If you killed all those bucks in your avatar, then I won't argue with your system.:biggrin:

However most areas I hunt there are plenty of straight trees suitable for a climber. In my case all I do is find a suitable ambush spot...really no different than I do with a lock on stand.

I prefer a climber because I move a lot over a week worth's of hunting if I'm not seeing what I want to see, and I have plenty of straight limbless trees. I may invest in a lock on and sticks for one site that I hunt that doesn't lend itself to climbers.

I think it is just choosing the right tool for the right situation, and neither is right for all situations.

Well, with Lock-Ons
 

fellas got to figure out how he's going to climb up the tree when he puts them up and uses them. In advertising, those lock-ons seem to magically appear on trees.

i was big ladder stand guy for longtime here in pa.i hunt publicland. not anymore. first you just cant get high enough in archery to avoid being scented.gun season its fine,i have had deer walk right by me in gun season but not in archery.
next its type of hunters you have now. they see your ladderstand and they will hunt right next to it.
then they will try to tear it down.or pee on it or poo on it.

ladderstands were easy for me, i used a deer cart to haul them in.ladderstands are not as comfortable as climber.but with hunters knowing where you are at,it ruined my hunting.
hunters today a few are desperate and will ruin your spot,they have to get a deer.

so i take ahead of season and find like 3 spots and trim the tree and i got to those spots different days.

YOU CANT KEEP HUNTING SAME SPOT IN ARCHERY FOR BUCK.he will find you. best chance at getting him is first day you use the spot.does will get you too.
so i hunt 1 spot this day and leave it alone for a few days and hunt another spot .climber is what i like now in archery and also in gun season.

i do hide my stand in brush in archery.in gunseason i do if say i am coming out next day in morning if i hunted evening before.
if not coming out next morning in gun season, i bring it in.usually i am a hunt the evening hunter then back out in am so i leave my climber on bottom of tree.then next morning in bring it out in gun season.

in archery i hide it in brush and spray it down with acorn spray .

take care sproul